Sew Together Bag no 2

Back in September when I made my first attempts at the Sew Together Bag I knew I wanted to stitch up another for a friend's special birthday last month.  So, having gotten my head around the pattern and  still being a little in the first flushes of romance with matchstick quilting I decided to stitch it up right after no 1 so that I wouldn't forget how!

Now that it has been gifted I can show you how it turned out:

My friend loves the rich colours of French General but has also been known to be partial to a little bit of Bonnie & Camille so I found these lovely Bliss scraps in the wee bundle Rachael had sent me in the summer that seemed to me like a perfect bridge between the two.

The outer background fabric is a cream linen cotton blend which I matchstick quilted with slightly wavy lines in a variegated neutral thread.  It is hard to photograph but it compliments the linen beautifully and lifts the plainness of the light colour to give it a bit of depth and structure.

Outside is calm and elegant (I hope) but inside is full of happy, smiley, floral prints and pretty pinks from various Bonnie & Camille lines.  I like how they mix together and I think they make a really feminine combination for this birthday gift.  Hope my friend does too!

Just in case you were wondering, yes, the Sew Together Bag was definitely easier to stitch second time around!

Sew Together Bag

I never did quite get back to you at the weekend about my next matchstick quilting project, but there is IG evidence to prove that I did actually get it finished over the weekend.  Huge thanks to my IG cheerleaders whose encouragement kept me at it.

Want to see what I made?

First of all, let me tell you that back in the summer the very sweet Rachel from The Floral Suitcase sent me all her Bonnie and Camille scraps when she was having a clear out.  Isn't that lovely of her?  Wonder how she knew I love B&C? ;-)

So, I decided a little gift of thanks was in order but with hols and school starting back and all sorts of other dull stuff I only just got around to making her a little something this weekend.  I thought I would tackle the Sew Together Bag pattern as it's such a handy bag and I LOVE the one I was gifted and use it all the time.

Things got in a bit of a muddle but thankfully the Quilt Barn's Sew Together Bag Sew Along came to the rescue and things started to take shape.

The sew a long posts are a valuable additional resource if you are thinking of working with this pattern (esp if you are a visual learner).  All my zippy bits lined up nicely.

The matchstick quilted panel forms the outer of the bag and gives is quite a bit of structure.  I was really pleased with my effort, especially the scary binding part.

I didn't do a perfect job but I'm sure Rachel will forgive the wibbles here and there and enjoy filling it full of all her sewing gadgets and notions.

Thank you for your kindness Rachel - I will have lots of fun working your scraps into my future B&C projects.

Oh yes, and I may have started another bag with more matchstick quilting.  This one is a secret so shhhhh!!!!